Priorities began to rise to the top Tuesday night for the members of a steering committee studying whether a combination of new or renovated schools are in the future for USD 257.
By evenings end, the consensus was that voters would most likely approve a new elementary school for preschoolers up through fifth grade as well as new heating and cooling systems for the Iola Middle School and Iola High School.
Any hopes for a renovated high school or middle school were left on the floor amid the reality that voters would not likely accept their costs.
That didnt sit well with all.
As a group, were looking at what people will buy, not necessarily what needs to be done, said Terry Lower, a phys ed instructor at IMS.
Our high school was built in 1916, the middle school in 1924. What are these buildings going to be like in another 10 years? How long can we keep putting Band-Aids on them? he asked.
No one disputed Lower.
But after numerous failed school bond issues, they accepted the fact that it may be best to proceed in small steps.
Shannon Bohm, architect with Schaefer, Johnson, Cox, Frey of Wichita, said that a more prudent approach is common and that with a master plan in hand the district can start chipping away at its problems.
In reality, most districts cant afford all of their needs, so they have to start somewhere, she said. In our experience, once you do something, maybe with a new elementary, it makes it easier to do something else down the road. People like what they see and how it affects the community positively.
CONSTRUCTION costs for a new elementary were in the neighborhood of $23 million. Another $3.4 million would be needed for new HVAC systems at the middle and high schools.
Though they looked at various site plans for a consolidated elementary school, members wondered if all possibilities had been exhausted.
The majority were against using eminent domain to remove any current homes to make way for a new elementary, all the while preferring a site as central to town as possible.
About 20 acres is needed for the new school, or about five to six city blocks.
Dan Willis, president of the USD 257 Board of Education, urged those with ideas to contact him at [email protected].
STEVE SHOGREN, a financial analyst with George K. Baum and Co., Wichita, walked committee members through the intricacies of public financing for school bonds. A $20 million bond proposal, for example, would cost an owner of a home valued at $75,000 an additional $107.81 a year in property taxes, or an additional $8.98 a month, for a 30-year amortization.
That would be an increase in the districts mill levy rate of 12.5 mills raising it to almost 59 mills.
